怒发冲冠 (nù fā chōng guān) — (idiom) to be absolutely furious; to be in a towering rage

Definition

Literary chengyu: literally 'anger makes hair fly up to the hat,' meaning fury so intense it seems to lift one's hair. More dramatic and written than 大发雷霆, which is the everyday idiom for 'flying into a rage.'

idiom
to be absolutely furiousto be in a towering rage

Examples

  • ，怒发冲冠，。
    Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā nù fā chōng guān, lì kè qù zhǎo duì fāng lǐ lùn.
    Upon hearing the news, he was furious and immediately went to confront the other party.
  • ，怒发冲冠，。
    Miàn duì zhè zhǒng bù gōng de duì dài, tā nù fā chōng guān, jī hū yào pāi zhuō zi.
    Faced with such unfair treatment, he was in a towering rage and almost slammed the table.
  • 怒发冲冠。
    Tā nù fā chōng guān dì kòng sù le duì fāng de qī piàn xíng wéi.
    He angrily denounced the other party's deceptive behavior.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

怒发angry hair
怒nùanger发fāhair
偏正Modifier + head
冲冠pushes up the cap
冲chōngpush/rush冠guāncap
动宾Verb + object

怒发 (angry hair) and 冲冠 (pushes up the cap) create the image of hair bristling in fury.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
奴
奴nú怒nù
Same sound today

怒 pairs 心 (heart) with 奴, which is used for its sound rather than its meaning of slave.

Open 怒 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 衝; 冲 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 冲 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (冲, 冲动) it is 衝; in others (冲) it is 沖.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng衝chōng
Same sound today

The traditional form 衝 shows 重 inside 行, with 行 as the meaning part and 重 as the sound part; the simplified 冲 is a later shorthand.

Open 冲 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
冖冖mìhat
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
元
元yuán冠guàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

冠 shows a hand putting a hat on a head: 寸 is the hand, 冖 is the hat, and 元 is the head.

Open 冠 →

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